Within the next few years multiple service providers will offer audiovisual and data services to mobile devices via terrestrial and satellite based broadcast, multicast and unicast networks, such as DVB-H, T-DMB, ISDB-T, DAB-IP, MBMS, HSDPA, WLAN etc. Such services are generally known as Mobile TV services, where audiovisual content and files are distributed via a point-to-multipoint and point-to-point network to mobile end-user devices. Mobile end-user devices, can be configured for receiving content via various networks, such as DVB-H, T-DMB, ISDB-T, DAB-IP, MBMS, HSDPA, WLAN etc.
The description of the contents of such services is typically available in a so called Electronic Service Guide (ESG). Such an ESG functions as the entry-point for the terminal to all services that are available on the broadcast channel or interactive channel.
The ESG comprises ESG data relating to the service and structure. ESG data include service information data containing a program guide (metadata including e.g. title, description, genre, time of a particular program), subscription and billing information (price, URL to acquire the proper credentials required to consume the service), access method information (SDP's, IP addresses, MPEG2-TS PIDs etc), interactivity information (e.g. voting or gambling) and auxiliary data. The service information data, often structured in tables, provides information of the content service (audio, video and/or files). The content service can then be received using the ESG.
As a result of the diversity in the capabilities of terminals, the service descriptions for all audiovisual and data services may not be applicable for all terminals. Diversity in capabilities exists e.g. in capabilities relating to access networks supported by the terminal, processing capabilities of audiovisual media codecs, security capabilities etc. As an example, a first terminal may be configured for receiving and processing audiovisual content provided over a WLAN network, HSDPA network and DVB-H network, whereas another terminal is only capable of receiving said same data over a HSDPA network.
The OMA (Open Mobile Alliance) document “Service Guide for Mobile Broadcast Services”, candidate version 1.0 of Sep. 25, 2007 prescribes the use of ‘Access’ fragments indicating how a terminal can access a service or a schedule during the lifespan of the ‘Access fragment’. The ‘Access fragment’ may contain an element referred to as ‘TerminalCapabilityRequirement’. This element provides a hint to the terminal what is needed to consume the service after the ESG has been downloaded completely. Furthermore, if a capability status of a terminal is changed, the implications of the changed capability status are not immediately clear for the ESG.
There exists a need in the art for an improved method of processing an ESG in a terminal, in particular in relation to the efficiency in obtaining an ESG as to improve performance.